Paolo Lazzeroni

Europe has been battling a deep freeze that started in late January and has killed hundreds, snow that has trapped thousands in Balkan mountain villages and prompted worries of flooding as heavy snow melts. In Greece and Bulgaria, flooding on Monday and Tuesday left dozens of homes under water and at least eight dead. Serbian [...]

Pakistani Nargis Shah, 13, enjoys playing on a swing along with other children on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, Aug. 15, 2011.

A mother mourns the death of her son at the Banadir hospital on August 16, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The hospital has been overwhelmed by new patients, as sickness spreads through camps for people displaced by drought and famine. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days from the crisis.

Two naval officers react outside for services for U.S.Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Joseph Strange at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011, in Philadelphia. Strange was assigned to the Navy SEAL team whose Chinook helicopter was shot down Aug. 6 by a rocket-propelled grenade in what has become the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan.

Indian students of Sri Vishnu Mahadeo Ved Pathshala wrap themselves with saffron cloth after bathing on the banks of the River Ganges on the occasion of Shravan Purnima in Allahabad, India, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011. Shravan Purnima, a full moon day, is an auspicious day in Hinduism and several festivals fall on this day. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh) #

A Nepalese devotee walks surrounded by trees on his way to a temple to offer prayers on the occasion of Janai Purnima festival, or Sacred Thread festival, in Kavre district, some 46 kilometers (28 miles) east of capital Katmandu, Nepal, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011. On Janai Purnima Hindus take holy baths and perform their annual change of the Janai, a sacred cotton string worn around their chest or tied on the wrist, in the belief that it will protect and purify them. (AP Photo/Laxmi Prasad Ngakhusi) #

A mother mourns the death of her son at the Banadir hospital on August 16, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The hospital has been overwhelmed by new patients, as sickness spreads through camps for people displaced by drought and famine. The US government estimates that some 30,000 children have died in southern Somalia in the last 90 days from the crisis. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) #

Supporters of Indian rights activist Anna Hazare try to block a police van after he was detained prior to beginning a hunger strike in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011. The prominent activist who had announced an indefinite hunger strike to demand tougher anti-corruption laws was detained early Tuesday morning, police said. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup) #

In this Monday, Aug. 15, 2011 photo, children watch, from behind a fence, the Deopokhari festival in Khokana, Katmandu, Nepal. The festival is held to appease, what locals believe is, a demon in the pond. Every year on this day cattle is sacrificed to the pond demon so that no human lives are lost drowning in the pond, what locals allege was a common occurrence before the festival began. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) #

A famine refugee plays next to a camp for Somalis displaced by drought and famine on August 18, 2011 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The UN estimates that more than 100,000 people have fled their villages to Mogadishu in the last two months due to the crisis. Some 1.5 million Somalis are estimated displaced nationwide due to drought, famine and war. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) #

Two naval officers react outside for services for U.S.Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Joseph Strange, a cryptology technician, at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011, in Philadelphia. Strange was assigned to the Navy SEAL team whose Chinook helicopter was shot down Aug. 6 by a rocket-propelled grenade in what has become the deadliest single loss for U.S. forces in the decade-long war in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) #

Fans waiting to see Sugarland run away after high winds blew the stage over at the Indiana State Fair Grandstands, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011, in Indianapolis. About a dozen people are reported to have injuries after the stage collapsed. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Matt Kryger) #

A photographer takes pictures of a newlyweds couple posing against the scenic spot at Shidu, on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011. Shidu, which means "10 ferry crossings" in Chinese, is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the country. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) #

A demonstrator holds up a spoon in front of the face of a police officer during a demonstration in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011. Students have been striking for more than two months now and marching by the tens of thousands calling for free and equal quality education. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia) #

The sun sets as amusement rides and fun continue on opening day of the Illinois State Fair, Friday Aug. 12, 2011 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ill. The Illinois State Fair will run Aug. 12-21. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman) #

Egyptian children play as their family awaits Iftar, the meal to break their fast at sunset, during the holy month of Ramadan inside the Al-Azhar mosque, near the Khan el-Khalili market, in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011. During Ramadan, Muslims worldwide fast from sunrise to sunset. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill) #

An Afghan woman, Bibi Hur, cries over her injured daughter at a hospital in Herat, west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011. Bibi Hur has lost three of her children and two more injured by a road side bomb, Hur said. The roadside bomb killed at least 20 passengers traveling on a minibus Thursday in western Afghanistan, another example of civilians being caught in the crossfire of the fighting between Taliban insurgents and the U.S.-led coalition. (AP Photo/Hoshang Hashimi) #

In this Aug. 15, 2011 photo, Andrea Mari and his horse Fedora Saura of the Giraffa (Giraffe) neighborhood in Siena, Italy, warm up in Piazza del Campo during a training session in view of the Palio, the famous break-neck bareback horse race around Siena's main square. The annual Palio pits Siena neighborhoods against one another and it's a major tourist draw for this Tuscan city. Each neighborhood puts up a horse and rider to race three times around the slippery, dirt covered cobblestone track. (AP Photo/Paolo Lazzeroni) #

An Afgan boy has his eyes checked by Medic Stephan Flynn on the Medivac helicopter of 159th Brigade Task Force Thunder during a flight to a hospital in Kandahar on August 16, 2011. The boy was wounded after stepping on an improvised explosive device (IED). Violence against civilians is at a record high in the war, with more than 1,400 Afghan civilians killed in the conflict this year, up 15 percent on the first half of 2010, according to a recently released United Nations report. AFP PHOTO/Johannes EISELE #

Mulmillo (L) closes the eyes of her two-year-old son Mahmud moments after he died from malnutrition and related complications at a local hospital in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on August 15, 2011. Mulmillo, her husband and three children fled their village in the Lower Shabelle region of southern Somalia and came to Mogadishu in search for a refuge from a severe drought in the region. More than 100,000 people have fled to Mogadishu from other drought-struck Somalia regions in search of food and water, but insecurity in one of the world's most dangerous cities is hampering aid flows. Some 12 million people in parts of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia are in danger of starvation in the wake of the region's worst drought in decades. AFP PHOTO / ROBERTO SCHMIDT #

Transsexual Wendy Iriepa rides in a classic car to her wedding in Havana, Cuba, Saturday Aug. 13, 2011. Iriepa, whose sex change operation was paid for by the state, tied the knot with Ignacio Estrada in a first-of-its-kind wedding for Cuba. Gay marriage is not legal in Cuba and Saturday's wedding does nothing to change that since Iriepa is legally considered a woman. (AP Photo/Javier Galeano) #